Exploring the public health nurse's role in establishing a state-level public health system for children's vision

The Healthy People 2020 objectives include children’s vision and eye health as a national priority and the Affordable Care Act requires insurance plans to offer pediatric vision services. Early vision screening and follow-up to care is necessary to detect and initiate treatment of vision problems and eye diseases that can lead to life-long health problems. Research has shown that infants and young children with visual impairment are more likely to experience developmental delays. There is little consensus among experts in children’s vision health in regards to standards guiding the frequency of screening, as well as referral or follow up criteria. Further contributing to the challenges of achieving children’s eye health is the lack of public health surveillance standards. The development of a more uniform approach to children’s vision health nationally is critically needed. Prevent Blindness, with support from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, established the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health (NCCVEH) to address the need for a systems-level approach to children’s vision.  NCCVEH convened a National Expert Panel to develop evidence-based recommendations for children’s vision and eye health which included a) vision screening procedures for children ages 3 through 5 years old, b) integration of child-level vision health data into state health information systems (e.g., state immunization information systems), and c) establishment of program performance measures for children’s vision and eye health. Public health nurses will be essential to providing the leadership needed to successfully integrate recommendations at the state and local levels.